Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim & Moby. Tim is sitting at a table with a piece of paper in front of him. Moby brings him a plate of bagels. TIM: Hmm . . . thank you. Tim picks up one of the bagels and takes a bite. TIM: Ow! Yuck! A bagel with locks . . . that’s pretty funny! The screen briefly shows bagels topped with cream cheese and metal padlocks. A letter appears on the screen as Tim reads it aloud. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, What’s the difference between a synonym, an antonym, and a homonym? From Gogol. Tim and Moby appear on the screen. TIM: Let’s take care of homonyms first. Homonyms are pairs of words that have different meanings, but are spelled or pronounced the same. Homonyms that sound the same are called homophones. Homonyms that are spelled the same are called homographs. Let’s take the three words “bass,” “bass,” and “base.” A fish appears below the word “bass” (spelled b-a-s-s and rhymes with “lass”), a guitar appears below the word “bass” (spelled b-a-s-s and rhymes with “face”), and a baseball base appears below the word “base” (spelled b-a-s-e and rhymes with “face”). TIM: “Bass” and “bass” are homographs. They’re spelled the same, but they have different meanings. “Bass” and “base” are homophones. They sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. Tim and Moby appear on the screen. MOBY: Beep! Beep! TIM: Well, you can usually tell which homophone the speaker means by listening to the rest of the sentence. If I say, “I slid into third base,” can you tell which of the two homophones I mean? Two pictures appear on the screen side by side. On the left is a picture of a bass guitar on the ground in a baseball diamond with someone’s foot sliding into it, and on the right is a picture of a baseball base on the ground in a baseball diamond with someone’s foot sliding into it. MOBY: Beep! Beep! TIM: That’s right, it’s b-a-s-e. Tim appears on the screen. TIM: Synonyms aren’t so confusing. They’re just words that mean the same thing, like “gigantic” and “huge.” Two pictures appear on the screen side by side. On the left is a picture of a Neanderthal man with the word “gigantic” above it, and on the right is a picture of a robot with the word “huge” above it. TIM: Both words are adjectives meaning “big.” They’re what we call synonymous. You try it. Let’s take the word “brave.” Which of these three words is a synonym for “brave”? On the left side of the screen, a picture of a knight on a horse appears with the word “brave” above it. To the right of the picture, three words appear in a list. • intelligent • dangerous • courageous TIM: Let’s look at “intelligent.” It means the same thing as “smart,” which isn’t synonymous with “brave.” The word “intelligent” is highlighted. A picture of a woman with glasses appears to represent “intelligent.” The word is then crossed out. TIM: On to “dangerous.” “Dangerous” describes something that might cause loss or injury, so we can cross that off. The word “dangerous” is highlighted. A picture of a monkey holding a hammer replaces the picture of the woman with glasses. The word “dangerous” is then crossed out. TIM: We’re left with “courageous.” “Courageous” describes a person ready to face danger. That sounds synonymous with “brave,” don’t you think? The word “courageous” is highlighted. A picture of an astronaut in a space suit replaces the monkey. Tim and Moby appear on the screen. MOBY: Beep? Beep? TIM: That’s true. There can be more than two synonyms, just like there can be more than two homonyms. I can think of lots of synonyms for “brave,” like “gutsy,” “fearless,” and “bold.” MOBY: Beep! Beep! TIM: I was just getting to that. Antonyms are words that mean the opposite of each other. Like, say, “fast” and “slow.” Two pictures appear side by side. On the left is a picture of a rabbit with the word “fast” above it, and on the right is a picture of a turtle with the word “slow” above it. TIM: Stop and go. Two new pictures replace the previous two. On the left is a picture of a traffic light with the red light illuminated. Above it is the word “stop.” On the right is a picture of a traffic light with the green light illuminated. Above it is the word “go.” TIM: Love and hate. Two new pictures replace the previous two. On the left is a picture of a woman smiling with cartoon hearts all around her. Above it is the word “love.” On the right is a picture of a scowling man with his fists in the air ready to fight. Above it is the word “hate.” Tim reappears on the screen. TIM: Just like synonyms, any word can have lots of antonyms. Let’s take the adjective “clean.” You can probably think of a ton of antonyms for “clean,” like “dirty,” “filthy,” “grimy,” “dusty,” “foul,” “muddy,” “unwashed” . . . the list goes on and on. On the left side of the screen, a picture appears of a boy in a bathtub with bubbles in the water and in his hair with the word “clean” above it. On the right, a second picture appears of a boy in dirty clothing with dirt on his face. Tim’s antonyms for “dirty” appear above the picture on the right as Tim speaks them. Tim and Moby appear on the screen. MOBY: Beep! Beep! TIM: Yeah, you’re right. Words that mean opposite things can be called antonymous to each other. It’s not as commonly used as the word “synonymous,” though. By the way, can I please have my bagel with l-o-x now? Kind of hungry here. You’re trying to think of a homonym for "bagel", aren’t you? Category:BrainPOP Transcripts